Title:Novel Gene Transfer Systems: Intelligent Gene Transfer Vectors for Gene Medicines
Volume: 12
Issue: 15
Author(s): Toshihiro Nakajima
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Drug delivery system, gene medicine, gene therapy, gene transfer, nucleic acid medicine, vector system, ‘intelligent’ or ‘innovative’ vector system
Abstract: Drug delivery systems for gene transfer are called ‘vectors’. These systems were originally invented as a delivery
system for the transfection in vitro or in vivo. Several vectors are then developed for clinical use of gene medicines
and currently some of them are approved as animal drugs. Conventional drug delivery system generally consists of approved
(existing) materials to avoid additional pre-clinical or clinical studies. However, current vectors contain novel materials
to improve an efficacy of gene medicines. Thus, these vectors have functions more than a mere delivery of active
ingredients. For example some vectors have immunological functions such as adjuvants in vaccines. These new types of
vectors are called ‘intelligent’ or ‘innovative’ vector system’, since the concept or strategy for the development is completely
different from conventional drug delivery systems. In this article, we described a current status of ‘intelligent gene
transfer vectors and discussed on the potentials of them.